Plaza Garibaldi
935 Washington Ave.
215-922-2370
Bathroom down a flight of stairs
Cash only
Bring your own beer or wine
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A friend of mine is an English professor at Community College of Philadelphia. With the semester coming to a close, Ilene has been busy grading papers and giving finals. A student from South Philadelphia wrote an essay on how the neighborhood has changed since she was a girl.
Indeed, it has. South Philly has developed into a mini United Nations. Although the area around Ninth Street is still called the Italian Market, your eyes and ears capture a different story. Families from China, Vietnam, Korea, Thailand, South America and Mexico have been settling here and opening food stores, variety shops and restaurants.
A reader recently told me about two relatively new Mexican grocery stores in the Washington Avenue area. Fortunately for us, three Mexican restaurants also have opened within the past several months. Philadelphia has lacked authentic Mexican restaurants for a long time.
Plaza Garibaldi is in the space once occupied by Saigon on Washington Avenue. It is named in honor of the great Italian patriot and general, Giuseppe Garibaldi — the father of modern Italy — who so loved freedom, he traveled to Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil to fight against dictatorship.
Plaza Garibaldi is a small, unpretentious cantina. It’s open on Sunday and it’s BYOB. Edward and I settled into a table for two and reviewed the menu. A basket of nachos arrived with two dipping sauces. One was a spicy tomato salsa and the other made with tomatillos with less of a kick. Cilantro, lime and chilies — of which there are more than 100 varieties in Mexico — add flavor to a number of native dishes. Many of Mexico’s dishes are "wraps;" tortillas form the base for various ingredients that are stuffed inside and baked in the oven.
We brought along a Malbac from Argentina, although beer is the beverage of choice with Mexican fare.
There are several quesadillas on the menu. I selected one prepared with mushrooms and cheese ($2.50). Thinly sliced fresh button mushrooms were grilled and placed in a tortilla, topped with oxaca cheese and crisped in the oven. This was not a layered quesadilla, which all sorts of restaurants offer. It was simply folded over and quite tasty. It wasn’t greasy at all. Oxaca is a fresh cheese similar to mozzarella in that it melts easily and has a slightly salty flavor. A small serving of crisp romaine lettuce and sliced radishes came with the appetizer. I liked the contrast of cool vegetables with a fresh, slightly crisp tortilla filled with piping-hot ingredients.
Another appetizer was prepared with Mexican sausage and cheese ($5). Chorizo, the spicy Spanish sausage, made its way into Mexico, where it is used in any number of dishes. The meat was grilled and chopped into small pieces. It was then placed in an earthenware pot, covered with oxaca cheese and baked in the oven until bubbly and piping-hot. A basket lined with a colorful embroidered cloth contained several warm tortillas. Our waitress told us to place some of the sausage mixture into the tortilla and wrap it up.
We enjoyed the contrast in tastes and textures. The chorizo was slightly spicy and nicely grilled. Since the portion was generous, we enjoyed enough sausage-cheese mixture to make three tortillas.
Except for a shrimp dish here and there, we noticed a lack of fish on the menu. Edward inquired about it, and our waitress told us red snapper ($14.95) was the fish of the day and could be prepared in either a garlic or tequila sauce. The snapper can be served whole, head-to-tail or filleted.
Red snapper is native to the New World and a number of varieties is caught off the Mexican coast and Florida. It is a light, meaty, white-fleshed fish that adapts to many sauces and spices. Edward received a whole filet of snapper. The two filets were stacked on top of each other, topped with a heady, hearty sauce made from minced fresh garlic, a little oil and lime juice. This thick mixture coated the top of the fish before it was baked in the oven. The fish was properly cooked, not a bit overdone. Rice and a fresh salad, including slices of ripe avocado, completed the platter. A warm roll that reminded me of ciabatta came with dinner.
I was in the mood for chicken fajitas ($8), which arrived at the table in a sizzling pan set on a wooden plank. Slices of chicken breast were marinated in oil and lime juice before they were saut�ed. Strips of grilled onions and red, green and yellow peppers were tossed with the chicken. Edward and I thought the dish lacked flavor and that the chicken was overcooked. Still, I wrapped the mixture into warm tortillas and topped it with fresh, tasty, homemade guacamole redolent with the right touch of garlic.
Service was friendly and attentive. Our waitress answered our questions, especially when we wanted to know the names of several other dishes we saw.
Prices at Plaza Garibaldi are very reasonable and portions are generous. It is a family restaurant — I spotted several high chairs in a corner — and it’s a welcome addition to the Italian Market.
Two tips of the toque to Plaza Garibaldi.
